


Pull Me Closer

by ithasthegay_fanfiction



Series: Gravitational Pull [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Galra Keith (Voltron), Keith and Lance are idiots, Lance is a BAMF, M/M, Sentient Lions, the team being jerks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2018-12-13 16:43:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11764083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ithasthegay_fanfiction/pseuds/ithasthegay_fanfiction
Summary: For months now, Keith and Lance have been playing this game... a game of push and shove. They clearly care for each other, but do they notice? What will happen when they do? All Lance wanted was to be happy... is that too much to ask?





	1. Dancing in the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> So this was done for the Voltron Big Bang on tumblr. 
> 
> The writing was done by me: @it-has-the-gay-fanfiction  
> Art done by: @hikarimitsuko

Lance’s back hit the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of him. A dark figure blocked out the light as Lance tried to blink the spots out of his eyes. A knee settled on either side of his hips, blocking any and all escape routes. Lance finally blinked the black dots out of his eyes and took in the sight of Keith hovering over him. _Now this is a view I could get used to...What am I thinking?!_ He could feel his face heating up and it wasn’t just from the sparring. Purple clouded his vision, and for a second he was worried he’d also hit his head when he was knocked down.

“Lance, you with me?” Keith’s voice sounded really close. Lance blinked again and everything refocused. _Oh… that’s why everything was purple._ “You really got me this time. Knocked the breath out of me and everything. I think I’m okay though.” He paused, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, unsure of how to word his next question. Keith’s gaze seemed to catch the motion before flicking back up to the eyes of the boy underneath him. “Um, Keith… Can you, uh… Can you get up? You’re kind of straddling my hips and if anyone walked in right now they would get the wrong idea and I’m sure neither of us want that.” Lance knew he was rambling, but he didn’t know what else to say to get Keith off of him without sounding weird. Keith blinked in confusion before a deep red colored his cheeks and his eyes widened dramatically. He quickly rolled off Lance and stood, making his way to the other side of the room.

“I’m going to take a quick break and try to catch my breath.” Lance called out to Keith as he pulled himself into a sitting position. “Alright, I think I’m going to train with the Gladiator, so you may want to move out of the way.” Keith replied without turning to face Lance. Lance scooted backwards until his back hit the wall. He winced when he hit a particularly sore spot against the metal wall of the training deck. “Is this good enough?” Lance called to Keith. The other paladin looked over his shoulder at him, “You’re good.” he called before turning back to face the Gladiator.

_I can’t stand this dance we do. I can’t stand not telling Keith how I feel. It just doesn’t seem fair._ Lance shook his head. _It doesn’t matter if it’s fair or not, the fate of the universe is more important than how I feel. If he doesn’t feel the same, and he probably doesn’t, then all I’ll accomplish by telling him is creating a rift that could potentially tear the team apart._ Lance sighed and tugged his fingers through his hair, before he flicked the sweat from them, his face the perfect picture of disgust. His eyes moved back over to Keith, taking in every detail. The way his body moved, the hard focus in his violet eyes, everything was just so… Keith. The red paladin moved with a practiced grace that Lance had yet to master. _It’s fine, we’ve only been up here a few months at most, and it’s not like I don’t know how to handle myself. I’ve won at least half of my sparring sessions against Keith. I’m adaptable to say the least._ A grunt drew Lance from his thoughts, pulling his eyes back to Keith.

One step backwards, a stab, a spin, every move seemed practiced, seemed staged. _Keith is like a machine… all practiced motions… me? I’m…_ Lance felt something nudge his thoughts. “Blue? Is something wrong?” He called out, drawing the attention of Keith, not that he noticed. Lance stared blankly ahead, totally focusing on his lion in his head. _“My paladin… do not worry about what the other paladins are capable of. You are like a lion, and that is all I could ever hope for.”_ A smile tugged at his lips as his lion’s presence faded to the back of his mind.

A gloved hand waved in front of Lance’s face and brought him out of his thoughts. “Lance? You okay in there?” Keith questioned as he crouched down in front of Lance. Lance rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly to clear his mind before he was finally able to focus on Keith enough to give him a confused look and ask, “Yeah? Why?” Keith rolled his eyes, “You zoned out and started talking to yourself. You sounded pretty worried, is everything okay?” Lance snorted and stood, “I’m fine, everything's good. Blue just decided to invade my thoughts for a second. I was worried something was wrong, but,” he smiled fondly, “she just wanted to tell me something.” He held a hand out for Keith to take, but Keith just pushed it away and stood, “You ready for another round?” Lance nodded and grabbed his water pouch from the floor, taking a quick sip from it before setting it back down. “Alright, give me a second.” Keith started scraping all his hair into a ponytail with his fingers and Lance did his best not to stare, but it was obvious he was failing when Keith’s eyes met his own.

Lance’s cheeks heated under Keith’s gaze and he looked away. “Let’s,” he cleared his throat when his voice cracked, “Let’s get started, I think we’ve had a long enough break.” Lance walked past Keith and headed for the center of the room. “Yeah, good idea.” Keith replied before following after the other paladin. Lance could hear Keith’s footsteps right behind him, but he refused to face him until necessary. He took a deep breath to calm his raging thoughts before he turned to Keith. “You ready?” Lance questioned while he shifted into a starting position. “Are we going all out this time, or are we sticking with pinning the other like we did last round?” Keith fired back, his feet already in a balanced stance, ready to spring into action at the drop of a hat. “I don’t feel like making a trip to the healing pods today.” Lance answered, his eyes following every move Keith was making. Keith gave him a brief nod before he fell back into a ready position. Lance gulped when the fierce violet gaze he had watched from afar was turned on him. _That’s… that’s hot… I’m so screwed._

Lance shook his head and in his moment of distraction, Keith dashed forward. He let out a gasp when Keith rammed his shoulder into his chest, trying to bring him down. Lance stumbled back a few steps before regaining his footing and throwing Keith off of him. “That was a cheap shot and you know it!” Lance shouted, spinning around to face his opponent again. Keith rolled his eyes, “Maybe you should pay more attention.” Lance narrowed his eyes and growled under his breath, but he didn’t rush forward like he knew Keith wanted him to.

Keith’s eyes failed to show whether or not he was surprised that Lance resisted the urge to charge him. Keith rolled his shoulders and set his jaw. _I think I made him angry._ He watched Keith with slight apprehension before letting out a breath. Tension fell off his shoulders and Lance smiled at Keith before he charged at him. This time Lance did catch the surprise on Keith’s face as he grabbed the other man’s arm and threw him. _I won’t lose, it’s been too long since I last beat Keith._ Keith rolled and came back up in a standing position, “That was good.” Lance’s heart fluttered and a small smile spread across his face at the praise. He saw Keith’s hand twitch, a sign that he was about to move, and ducked. Keith’s fist sailed over his head, the other coming up for a shot at his stomach. Lance took the hit, but used his position to bully Keith off of him. Lance dived at Keith and took them both to the ground. Keith struggled underneath him, but Lance sat on Keith’s hips to keep him from moving.

“I think I won.” Lance smirked and looked down at Keith. _Oh god… bad idea, horrible, HORRIBLE idea!!_ Keith’s hair had fallen out of the ponytail it had been in and was splayed around Keith’s head like a halo. Violet eyes were clouded from exhaustion, pale cheeks were flushed red, and gloved hands were resting on his arms. _I’m so screwed._ He scrambled to get up, but Keith pulled him back down. Lance looked down at the other paladin in confusion. “Don’t.” Keith said softly. “Don’t what?” Lance tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Don’t run away from me anymore. I’m done dancing.” Keith replied, a determined look on his face. Lance was stunned, “What exactly are you saying, Keith?” Lance noticed that the distance between the two of them was getting shorter, but he had no idea who was moving. “I’m saying that I...  I... “ Keith huffed in frustration and grabbed the front of Lance’s shirt, pulling him down and smashing their lips together.

Lance’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly closed his eyes and pressed back against Keith. Keith pulled his collar harder causing Lance to break the kiss. “Slow down there, Keithy boy, let me get this straight-” “Oh there’s nothing straight going on here.” “Keith,” Lance gave Keith a deadpan look before continuing, “Anyways… let me get this straight, you like me?” Keith rolled his eyes and smiled, “That would be correct.” “And why haven’t you said or done anything before now?” Lance asked, his eyes flicking over Keith’s face looking for any signs of a lie. “Same reason as you, I assume. You don’t want to mess up the inner workings of our team and you didn’t know if your feelings were reciprocated.” Keith replied, looking up into Lance’s eyes. “Then why now? What’s changed?” “Nothing has changed, except my patience, Lance. I couldn’t wait any longer to confess. Not when you keep being, well… you.” Keith chewed on his lip. Lance smirked and sat up, pulling Keith up with him, “You make a compelling argument.”

Keith slapped his arm and frowned slightly, “Lance, cut it out.” Lance brushed Keith’s hair out of his face, “Alright, I’m being completely serious now, what do you want to do about this?” Keith took his hand and linked their fingers together. “I don’t want to go back to what we were,” Keith looked down at their joined hands and rubbed his thumb over Lance’s knuckles. “Me neither. Voltron be damned, I’m not going to waste my time with you just because of the universe. If anything, the two of us being paladins of Voltron is a sign from the universe that we should be together.” Lance squeezed Keith’s hand and stared into the eyes of the man in front of him. Keith smiled at him, a real smile, the one he seemed to save for only Lance. “I think that’s the best thing you could have said.” Keith replied before pressing a soft kiss against Lance’s lips.


	2. Netflix and Chill... Out on the Couch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit nerve wracking to try to hide a relationship when you are two of seven people on a ship...

Lance stepped out of the shower and dried off while he listened to the water from Keith’s shower continue to run.  _ And they say I take long showers…  _ He laughed quietly to himself as he put on his clothes. The water shut off and Lance barely had time to turn around before Keith got out of the shower himself. “What are you laughing about?” Keith asked from behind Lance. “Just laughing at the fact that everyone seems to think I take long showers. Sure, every once in awhile I’ll treat myself to a nice long shower, but when you’ve lived in a house with as many people as I have, you learn to take short ones.” Lance smiled to himself and brushed through his hair with his fingers. Keith let out a breathy laugh and wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist, “I’ve noticed that you take shorter showers than the rest of us, I don’t know how everyone else hasn’t picked up on it.” Lance turned around in Keith’s arms and draped his arms over Keith’s shoulders, “I think it’s because no one pays more attention to me than you do.” Keith’s face burned bright red and he looked down, “S-shut up,” he pulled out of Lance’s arms, “Let’s just go get something to eat and maybe watch a movie or something.” 

Lance sighed, but linked their fingers before he pulled Keith out of the shower room, “Do you think we should tell the team?” He asked as they walked down the hall. “I… I don’t know. I feel like it’s too soon, this is all still new.” Keith chewed his lip as he thought about everything that could go wrong. Lance rubbed his thumb over the back of Keith’s hand to try to soothe him, “It’s okay, I get it. I mean, they will find out eventually. It’s hard to keep secrets when we form Voltron or when we do the mind melding training…” Lance sighed before continuing, “I’m worried too. There’s no way to tell how they will react, I guess the best we can do is hope they don’t get mad.”  Keith squeezed his hand once before letting go as they got to the kitchen doors, “Can we… can we at least try? To hide it, I mean.” Lance smiled and nodded, “If that’s what you want to do, I’m game.” Keith looked like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders and he gave Lance that smile again before walking into the kitchen. 

Lance followed after him and took his seat beside Keith at the table, “So, whose turn was it to cook today, because I’m starving.” “I believe it’s Hunk’s turn.” Pidge offered from their spot across the table. Lance looked around, “I assume he’s still cooking then…” He poked at his growling stomach and sighed, “I actually don’t think I’ve had anything to eat today.” “Unless you ate breakfast, neither of us has had food today.” Keith had his body turned slightly so that he could look at Lance while he was talking. Lance gave him a small smile, “Well maybe next time we shouldn’t wait so long to eat, that’s how you make yourself sick.” Lance gave Keith a pointed look, receiving an eye roll and a small smile in return.

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen you two all day. What have you two been doing?” Shiro asked, drawing Lance’s attention to the older male. “We were sparring, you got a problem with that?” Keith replied, sounding kind of defensive. Shiro held up his hands in surrender, “No, nothing’s wrong with that. I’m happy that the two of you finally seem to be getting along.” Lance placed his hand on Keith’s knee to calm him down. “As soon as Keith gets rid of that mullet, we’ll be golden.” Lance laughed a little and patted Keith’s knee to show he was just kidding before returning his hand to its spot on his own knee. “We’ll be golden as soon as  _ you _ get better at hand-to-hand.” Keith smirked and poked Lance’s arm. Lance raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, “Excuse you, but if you hadn’t noticed, aside from you and Shiro, I have the highest level in hand-to-hand combat on the team.” 

“Of course I noticed.” Keith muttered darkly under his breath. “Oh what are you getting so mad about now? I think you’re just jealous that I’m just as good as you.” Lance smirked.  _ But of course you don’t really think that do you.  _ Some dark part of his brain whispered to him. “Yeah, sure, anything to help you sleep better at night, princess.” Keith replied sarcastically, drawing Lance out of his darker thoughts. Lance sputtered, “P-princess? Nope, none of that.” He turned his head away from Keith’s smug look, trying to desperately hide the growing blush that was staining his cheeks. “Is something going on between the two of you?” Shiro questioned, his eyes flicking between the two of them. “Why would there be?” Keith raised an eyebrow and leaned his elbows on the table, the perfect image of nonchalance.  _ Ouch… that kind of hurt a little bit.  _ “I don’t know… you two just seem a little… softer towards each other.” Shiro replied, the suspicious look still in place on his face. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Shiro.” Lance set his chin on his hand and looked over at Shiro with a forced look of confusion on his face.  _ I wonder if they’ll notice… probably not, they never do…  _  “You two are being way too nice to each other,” Pidge piped up from their spot across the table, “what’s changed between you two?” Pidge narrowed their eyes and looked between the two of them like they were trying to solve some complicated piece of coding. “Nothing has changed, Pidge. I’m just too tired to mess with Keith today.” Lance sighed and brushed his drying hair out of his face. “Why does anything have to be going on between us anyways? We’ve been sparring all day and we’re exhausted.” Keith added, rolling his shoulders to loosen the tension in them. “Excuses, excuses.” Pidge leaned forward, laptop set aside for the moment. “What were you really up to?” Lance refrained from looking over at Keith, “We really were sparring, what else would we be doing?” He sighed and set his head on his hand. “I’m not sure...yet, but I will find out.” Pidge picked their laptop back up and went back to typing furiously.

Lance just sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. _Pidge is smart… they’ll be the first to find out… if we don’t tell everyone before that happens. What if they don’t accept this? What if there’s some rule that paladins aren’t allowed to have relationships? Maybe we_ shouldn’t _have done this, a relationship could tear the team apart, it could distract us from our mission. I’d gladly give my life for Keith, for anyone… They don’t need me, I’m just a seventh wheel, Keith is probably just pity da-_ A nudge in the back of his mind cut off his train of thought. _“Lance, my cub, do not be so hard on yourself. You are not a seventh wheel, you are just as important as any of the other paladins. Do not worry so much, you have a place here.”_ With her rant done, Blue retreated to the back of his mind again. A hand on his knee reminded Lance that he probably just zoned out in the middle of a conversation. Lance blinked a few times to refocus before looking over at Keith. “You okay?” Keith questioned softly. Lance gave him a small smile, but was saved from answering by Hunk and Coran walking into the dining room with trays of food.

“Hope you guys weren’t waiting too long.” Hunk smiled at them as he set the trays of food on the table. “I’d wait forever for your food, buddy.” Lance grinned and quickly grabbed some food before it was all gone. Hunk laughed and ruffled Lance’s hair, “Well I guess it’s a good thing you won’t have to wait any longer.” Lance playfully swatted at Hunk’s hand, but smiled up at him nonetheless before replying, “Hey man, I’m starving, I think I’d eat anything at this point.”  “I really don’t think you would bud, but thanks anyways.” Hunk grinned before heading over to his seat to get his own food. 

Lance watched everyone talking while he shoveled food into his mouth. He knew he should probably join in, make some joke, tease Keith, anything but sit there quietly like he was doing, but he didn’t really have it in him. He was just too tired from sparring all day with Keith, and the thoughts he usually kept at bay kept coming back again and again. All Lance wanted to do was snuggle up on the couch with his boyfriend and maybe watch a movie… but he didn’t know if they would ever get the opportunity. Everyone was suspicious of them already, plus the only place to watch anything was in the common room and as the name states, it’s a  _ common _ room. It was open to everyone. Lance sighed and leaned his elbow on the table to prop his head up as he ate.  _ Where’s a guy gotta go to get some privacy with his boyfriend?  _

“Paladins, I know you have all worked hard today, so I will allow you to have the rest of the day to yourselves.” Allura looked between the paladins, lingering on Shiro.  _ So that’s it, Shiro made her give us a break.  _ “Sweet! I’m going to go work on some upgrades for Green.” Pidge pushed their plate away before tucking their laptop under their arm and pushing their chair back. “See you guys later.” Pidge waved and walked out. “Don’t work all night!” Shiro called after them, but the kitchen doors were already shutting, so there was no telling if Pidge heard him or not. Shiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t worry, Shiro,” Hunk stood and placed a hand on Shiro’s shoulder, “I’ll make sure Pidge gets some rest. I wanted to go do some bonding with Yellow anyway.” Hunk released his grip on Shiro’s shoulder as the older man shot him a grateful smile. Hunk smiled back before leaving the room, shouts of “Hey wait up Pidge!” sounding as the doors closed behind him. 

“Well, I think I will return to my quarters to catch up on some much needed sleep.” Coran mused before making his exit, muttering something under his breath. Lance stood, drawing the attention of the remaining people in the room. “I think I’m going to go watch a movie or something in the common room if anyone wanted to join me.” At that he gave Keith a pointed look, hoping the other would catch his meaning. He didn’t wait for a response before leaving the room. If they wanted to join him, they would. 

Lance walked down the hall with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. When he heard footsteps behind him, a slow smile spread across his face. “I’m glad you got my meaning.” He said as he turned his head to look over at Keith as said teen walked up beside him. “I figured you wanted some company, you looked kind of put out at dinner.” Keith replied, slipping his hand in Lance’s jacket pocket to twine their fingers together. “It’s nothing, I’m just tired.” Lance lied smoothly. “If you say so.” Keith squeezed his hand, causing a smile to slip back onto Lance’s face. “I do say so, mullet. Now let’s get a movie or something started so we can cuddle on the couch.” Lance gently freed his fingers from Keith’s and walked over to the Altean version of a television. It had taken some getting used to, but Lance could get it working almost as fast as Coran could, not that anyone cared. He set it up and grabbed the remote before walking over to the couch where Keith was waiting for him with a blanket. He smiled gratefully and slid under the blanket, leaving a little space between Keith and himself. All Lance wanted to do was curl up with Keith and sleep, but he didn’t know if the other paladin would be comfortable with that, so he kept his distance.  

“What do you want to watch?” Lance looked over at Keith to find him already staring with a slight frown on his face.  _ What did I do now? _ “What are you doing?” Keith asked, his eyebrows were pinched and his frown finally settled, making him look like he was extremely angry at someone _ … at me _ . “W-what do you mean?” Lance stuttered out. He was scared, borderline terrified of the next words that would come out of Keith’s mouth. Keith reached out and gently traced his fingers over Lance’s face before dropping the motion and pulling Lance against his side. “I thought you said you wanted to cuddle, but how are we supposed to do that when you were way over there.” Keith grinned as he took in the shock on Lance’s face. “I… I just thought…” Lance couldn’t form a proper sentence in his head, he was blown away by the tenderness Keith was showing him.  _ I don’t deserve this.  _ “You just thought what, Lance?” Keith questioned, pulling Lance out of his thoughts. “Just thought that you wouldn’t actually want to… be close to me…” Lance turned his head away from Keith and started flipping through the movies to hopefully distract Keith. 

“Hey,” Keith placed a hand on Lance’s jaw, “Look at me, Lance.”  _ I screwed up, he’s mad.  _ Lance slowly turned his head to face Keith, but kept his eyes averted so he wouldn’t have to see the look on his boyfriend’s face.  _ If… he still wants that.  _ The hand on his jaw slid under his chin, forcing him to look up at Keith. “Why wouldn’t I want to be close to you? We’re dating aren’t we?” Keith asked softly, his thumb gently sliding over Lance’s jaw in an effort to calm him. “Yeah… we are. I just… why me?” Lance closed his eyes, afraid to see Keith’s reaction. “Why not you? You’re funny and smart, you’re pretty good at hand to hand, you are our sharpshooter, Lance. You’ve saved my life on multiple occasions, you keep me grounded, and damnit Lance, you’re just so beautiful and selfless, how could I  _ not _ want to be with you?” Lance’s eyes snapped open and he stared at Keith in shock. “W-what?” Keith pulled him closer, “You heard me,” Keith said lowly, “I really,  _ really _ like you, Lance. I’m not going to give you up once I’ve finally gotten you. You’re mine and I’m yours, so you better cut that self-deprecating shit. You are perfect the way you are.” Keith pressed his forehead against Lance’s and looked into tear-filled blue eyes. Lance sighed and his shoulders sagged, but he pressed back against Keith. Keith gave him a small smile before pulling back. 

“Let’s watch that movie, okay?” Keith’s eyes flicked across Lance’s face. Lance took in a deep breath and released it slowly, wiping the unshed tears from his eyes. “Sorry about that.” Lance chuckled weakly before pressing play on the movie. The lights in the room dimmed as the movie started and Lance felt an arm snake around his waist. He had just gotten comfortable when Keith pulled Lance into his lap. “There, that’s much better.” Keith wrapped both arms around Lance’s waist and held him tightly against his chest. Lance hummed and settled into the embrace, pulling the blanket tighter around them. He could feel himself starting to drift off, and as much as he didn’t want to, the warmth radiating from Keith, the comforting weight of the arms around his waist, and his exhaustion, dragged him under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try to update this every Thursday, but it all depends on my class schedule. I just moved into college.


	3. Just Vent Your Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How long can you keep a relationship a secret? Not very long apparently.

Lance woke to the sound of something clicking and white noise, which caused him to blink open his eyes, immediately on alert for whatever was making the noises. He didn’t care so much about the white noise, figuring it was coming from the television that Keith obviously didn’t turn off, no, Lance was more concerned about the clicking noise. Lance sat up, well more like he attempted to sit up, seeing as Keith had a vice like grip on his waist, keeping him pinned against his chest. “Keith,” Lance tapped frantically on Keith’s arm, “Keith, something’s wrong.” Everything shifted and Lance suddenly found himself on the floor, “Keith… did you just throw me on the floor?” Lance hissed out, looking up at the other paladin with a sour expression. Keith looked down at him before offering a hand, which Lance took, allowing Keith to pull him up. “Sorry,” Keith gave him a half smile, “You said something was wrong and I just kind of reacted.” Keith brushed his thumb across Lance’s cheek before turning his attention to the room. “Some weird noise woke me up… It sounded kinda like, um, like this.” Lance made a clicking noise, “Well… something like that.” Lance said quietly as he looked around the room again, pressing up against Keith’s back.

Lance felt Keith tense slightly before he reached around and pulled his knife from its sheath on his back. “You carry that thing around with you?!” Lance hissed out as he watched Keith flick the blade around in his hand. ”You never know when you’ll need a knife,” Keith turned his head to look at Lance before looking back to the darkened room, “Tell me what you think the noise sounded like. If we figure that out, we’ll be able to figure out what was making it.” Lance straightened and stepped out from behind Keith, “I think… It sounded like a camera going off.” He could hear Keith suck in a breath, “Are you sure?” He questioned, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “Pretty sure, but… it could have been one of the doors shutting, they make almost the same noise.” Lance replied in the same tone. “We need to get out of here. Get back to our rooms and pretend this never happened. If that really was a camera, and I really hope it wasn’t, then that means we’ve been found out. I-I’m not ready to announce our relationship to the team.” Keith whispered frantically, already silently moving towards the door.

“I really hope I’m wrong, too, Keith. I mean, what if there’s some rule that paladins can’t be together because it compromises Voltron? What if they separate us... w-what if they hate us?” Lance asked in a broken whisper, following just as silently after Keith. “Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen, but right now our goal is to get back to our rooms without being spotted.” Keith reached back, linked his fingers with Lance’s, and squeezed them tightly. _He’s just as afraid as I am._ Lance sucked in a breath and allowed Keith to lead him out of the room. “What are we going to do if there’s someone waiting for us?” Lance questioned as they silently made their way down the darkened corridor. “We run,” Keith shrugged before continuing, “I don’t really know, Lance. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”

As they crept down the hallway, Lance had the sinking feeling that something was going to go wrong. He wasn't sure what was going to happen when they were found out, because let's face it, they were going to be found out, but honestly? Honestly, he would be damned if he let someone break them up. “Shit.” Keith hissed under his breath as he threw an arm out in front of Lance to stop him. “What is it?” Lance questioned, worry coloring his voice. “Someone is in front of your door, there’s no way we can get to our rooms without them seeing us.” Keith replied while he slowly edged backwards, bringing Lance back with him. Lance felt like his heart was going to stop, “W-what do you want to do?” Keith took hold of Lance’s hand again, “Run.” That was all Keith had to say before Lance took off down a side hallway, dragging Keith behind him.

“You know this isn't going to make our situation any better!” Lance called behind him as they pounded down the hallway. “I don't care! Keep running, Lance.” Keith urged Lance to go faster and kept throwing glances over his shoulder to see if anyone was following them. Lance jerked Keith down another side hallway. “Lance! What are you doing?” Keith yelped as he almost slid onto the floor. “There was… there was someone there.” Lance panted out as he continued his breakneck run down the hall. “Vents.” Keith wheezed out and tugged on Lance’s arm. “What?” Lance looked back at him before realization dawned on his face. He slowed down and scanned the walls for a vent. “There.” Keith pointed to a vent a few feet down the hall. Lance headed over to it and pulled the grate off the wall, “In you go.” Keith rolled his eyes before crawling into the vent, “Is this some ploy to look at my ass?” Lance chuckled and crawled in after him, pulling the grate back into place, “Now why would you think that?”

“Oh… I dunno, maybe because you're Lance?” Lance could hear the amusement in Keith's voice. “Now while that may be true, I just didn’t want to go first… it’s dark and small.” He said quietly. “Are you seriously telling me that you’re afraid of the dark?” Keith asked incredulously as he crawled forward into the vent. “N-no… just keep moving, Keith.” Lance huffed out and followed after his boyfriend as they ventured deeper into the ventilation system. Keith bit back a laugh, “Yeah, sure, Lance… whatever you say.” Lance followed Keith silently for a little bit before a sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks, “Um, Keith… not to freak you out or anything, but do you know where we are?” A loud bang and cursing ahead of him caused Lance to pause before Keith finally answered, “Will nothing go my way today?” The vent underneath them started to creak and groan under their combined weight. “You just _had_ to jinx it didn’t you?!” Lance hissed out, barely daring to breathe in fear that he would send the whole vent crashing to the ground. “It’s not _my_ fault that we’re in here in the first place, now is it, _Lance?_ ” Keith growled and slapped his palm against the vent, jarring it enough to send them crashing into the room below them.

Lance yelped as he tumbled to the ground, Keith not far behind him. He heard a groan come from somewhere near him, but it was so dark in the room that Lance couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. “Keith, you okay?” Lance called out as he dragged himself into a sitting position. “I think I landed on my face,” Keith groaned out, “I’m pretty sure my nose is bleeding.” Lance sighed and felt around in his pockets, hoping he still had that flashlight that Hunk stuffed in his pocket. He let out of noise of triumph when his fingers curled around the small cylindrical flashlight in his pocket. He flipped the switch once he pulled it from his pocket and panned it around the room, using what little light it actually gave off to find Keith. Lance finally spotted Keith a little ways from him and winced when he saw the state that the other paladin was in. “Well… red is definitely your color.” Lance snorted as he crawled over to his bleeding boyfriend. “Oh just shut up and help me.” Keith ground out, his voice coming out slightly nasally from the pressure he was putting on his nose. “Alright, alright. Sheesh, didn’t know I was dating a baby.” Lance joked as he looked around for something he could use to stem the bleeding. “Lance, I swear to god if you don’t help me, I’ll tell everyone that you’re afraid of the dark.” Keith choked out as he was forced to swallow the blood running into his throat. “Hey, don’t hold your head at that angle. All you’re going to do is get a mouthful of blood.” Lance forced Keith to lean forward before going back to looking for a scrap of cloth. “Been there, done that. Just hurry it up, dammit!” Keith huffed. Lance looked around once more before noticing that he was sitting on something he could use to stop the bleeding. He sat up and pulled the cloth from beneath him before pinching Keith’s nose. “This should get it to stop.” Lance said gently, as if trying to soothe the other paladin, while he took care to make sure no blood dripped anywhere.

“How come you don’t know how to properly stop your nose from bleeding, Keith? You lived alone for at least a year… you should know this.” Lance said suddenly, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. Keith shrugged, “I don’t know… wasn’t really something that came up.” Lance pulled the cloth away and sighed in relief when there was no blood coming from Keith’s nose, “So, you’re telling me that you don’t know basic first aid because it never applied to you?” Lance questioned. “Pretty much, yeah.” Keith grinned at Lance, who grimaced at the blood staining the other’s teeth. “I’m going to look for a light switch or something. You should probably take care of those bloody teeth.” Lance stood and swung the light around the room, looking for both a door and someway to turn on the lights. He stilled when his light caught the gleam of a door and he smirked to himself before heading over to it, knowing that the lightswitch must be somewhere near there. Lance closed the distance between himself and the door, looking on one side and then the other for the lightswitch. “There you are, beautiful.” Lance muttered to himself before pressing the button beside the door. Light flooded the room and Lance blinked away the spots in his eyes at the difference. “So bright. Jesus, did Alteans use the freaking sun to power their lights?!” Keith griped from behind Lance, causing said paladin to chuckle and make his way back over to his boyfriend. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Lance laughed out as he sat down next to Keith.

“So what’s the next step? What’re we going to do?” Keith asked and leaned against Lance who wrapped an arm around his waist in response. “I guess we’ll just have to stay here tonight and hope nobody finds us… I’m not actually sure where we are in the castle, it looks kind of like our rooms, but dustier.” Lance replied as he got a better look of the room they were in. “Lock the door and call it a night?” Keith tilted his head in question as some of the fear from earlier slipped back onto his face. “If it’ll make you feel better… but we’re safe now I think. They don’t know where we are.” Lance said softly, reaching a hand up to run his fingers through Keith’s surprisingly soft hair. _Damn him and his perfect hair._ “I guess… there’s nothing else we can really do. Someone was definitely in front of your door and possibly in the common room. I’m just...scared Lance, I’m scared that they won’t accept us.” Lance could feel Keith tensing up underneath his fingertips.

“Hey… hey calm down,” Lance soothed and gently ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, “Everything will turn out fine. Don’t worry, I’ve got you and you’ve got me and nothing is going to break us up.” He held Keith a little tighter, practically pulling the other into his lap. Keith sighed in content and melted under Lance’s touch, “Thank you, Lance. I’m sure you’re right… everything is going to be fine.” The adrenaline from earlier was starting to wear off and Lance could feel his muscles starting to sag and his eyes droop. “Goodnight, Keith.” Lance mumbled against Keith’s shoulder, his head having dropped to it when he could no longer hold it up. “Goodnight, Lance. Thank you.” Keith whispered and leaned back into Lance before he too was out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super sorry I didn't get this out on Thursday! I have a lot of work to do and I was getting ready to come home for the weekend. I'm human my dudes, and this human is in college. 
> 
> Follow me on tumblr @it-has-the-gay-fanfiction


	4. This just in: the team sucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team finally show their true colors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come talk to me on tumblr @it-has-the-gay-fanfiction

Loud banging pulled Lance from the warm embrace of sleep. He grumbled under his breath and curled closer to the heat source on his lap, refusing to actually wake up. He shifted a bit to get comfortable and it was then that Lance realized he had a sleeping Keith on his lap, a reminder of where they were. Lance sat up and scooted back against the wall he was leaning against, groaning when the movement stretched his back, which was sore and stiff from sleeping on the ground. The banging on the door grew louder, “Keith, Lance, I know you’re in there. I want you out here, now.” The door couldn’t hide the exasperation and disappointment in Shiro’s voice. Lance cringed and held Keith tighter to his chest. “Lance?” Keith slurred slightly as he pushed against Lance’s arms and squirmed around in Lance’s lap. 

Lance sucked in a breath and grabbed Keith's hips to hold him still. “Stop moving or else we may have another problem.” Lance hissed out, causing Keith to look down and blush a little bit. “I’m not leaving boys, so open this door.” Shiro sounded borderline angry. “Yeah, we should probably go and get this over with.” Keith sighed and gently untangled himself from Lance’s grip before standing and offering Lance a hand so he could do the same. Lance took the hand offered to him and pulled himself up before releasing his grip so he could open the door. “Hey, Shiro, long time no see,” Lance smiled nervously, “we’ll just be going now, see ya.” 

As Lance attempted to slip past Shiro, he felt something grab the back of his jacket and lift him into the air. He yelped and kicked out with his legs only to find that he couldn’t get out no matter how hard he tried. “Shiro! What are you doing?” Lance shrieked and flailed about as he was thrown over Shiro’s shoulder. “Lance quit it! You’re going to hit me idiot.” Keith huffed out. 

Lance immediately went still and looked to the side to see that Keith had been thrown over Shiro’s other shoulder. Shiro turned and started walking down the hallway without another word to the two boys he had thrown over his shoulders. “Where are you taking us, Shiro?” Keith asked and looked over at Lance with a look of slight apprehension. Shiro stayed quiet, causing the pit of nerves in Lance’s stomach to grow. Lance bit his lip and looked over at Keith.

“This isn't going to end well, I can feel it.” Keith whispered to Lance with a worried expression. Lance reached a hand over and rubbed Keith's jaw, “Remember what I promised you, I won't leave you. There's nothing in the universe that will make me leave you.” Keith leaned into his touch, but they jerked apart when Shiro walked into the control room where the rest of the team was waiting. Shiro set them down on their feet and walked over to join the rest of the team.

“What's this about?” Keith demanded, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive manner. Lance could see the fear behind Keith's glare and hoped his own glare didn't reflect it. “This is about the two of you and your,” Allura paused to look between the two of them, “relationship.” She finished with a frown marring her usually graceful features. Lance clenched his fists behind his back, but schooled his features into a neutral expression, “What exactly do you mean, Princess? What relationship are you talking about?” 

Allura narrowed her eyes, “Do not play dumb with me, Lance. We are fighting a war, there is no time for a relationship such as the one between you and Keith. You need to be focused on the mission, not each other.” 

Lance’s eyes widened as Keith’s narrowed. “What exactly are you implying,  _ princess _ ?” Keith hissed out, stepping slightly in front of Lance like he was trying to protect the blue paladin from their leader’s harsh words. 

“Do not talk to the princess that way!” Coran barked out sounding angrier than any of the paladins had heard before. Lance grabbed onto the back of Keith’s shirt in slight fear of the one man who he thought would never yell at him. 

“Hey, back off, Coran. We’re trying to talk this through like mature adults, so why can’t you treat us like we are?! We just want to know what the hell is going on and what the big freaking deal is.” Keith growled out, stepping farther in front of Lance, almost blocking him from the team’s view. 

“What…” Hunk trailed off as everyone turned to stare at him. He cleared his throat and began again, “What if you guys have a fight or break up? Will we even be able to form Voltron if you guys break up? If you think about it, you guys being together is kind of a threat to the team.” Lance made a hurt noise in the back of his throat and opened his mouth to respond, but Keith beat him to it. 

“How the  **_hell_ ** are we a threat to the team?!” Keith hissed out, stepping towards the team with a murderous look on his face, “Ever since we got up here it has been ‘Lance, Keith, quit fighting’, ‘Lance, Keith quit being rude’, ‘Lance, Keith, just pretend for a moment YOU DON’T HATE EACH OTHER!” Keith yelled out, his cool and collected facade falling apart just like he was. Lance noticed the tears gathering in the corners of his boyfriend’s eyes and stepped forward to comfort him but Keith pushed him away. “So tell me, how are we threatening the team?!” Keith’s voice was cracking, the tears of anger-  _ and a little sadness too,  _ Lance’s mind supplied- running down his face. Lance looked at each of his teammates in turn to gauge their reactions. Pidge was biting their lip, looking conflicted, but made no move to help the two. Shiro had that disappointed dad look on his face again, something that broke Lance’s heart a little every time he saw it. Hunk was shuffling his feet guiltily, but Lance could tell that he wouldn’t change his mind any time soon. Allura and Coran both held frowns on their faces. 

“Hunk is right… Voltron is more important than your feelings, than how any of us feel,” Pidge started. Lance could see the muscles in Keith’s back tensing in anger, and he knew Keith must have a murderous glare on his face. “The team is more important than your relationship, guys… If you split up, we’ll all be forced to take sides and that would tear the team apart.” Pidge finished calmly, a look of slight sympathy crossing their face before it was once again replaced by that calculating look that they seemed to wear all the time now. 

Keith’s shoulders rose, reminding Lance of a cat raising its hackles in a fight.  _ This is not going to end well. _ “Well if the problem is the team being ripped apart,” Keith began, his voice level and calm, “did you guys ever think about how we would take this!” Keith’s voice was starting to raise as he got angrier and angrier and was no longer able to keep it under control. “FRIENDS WANT THEIR FRIENDS TO BE HAPPY! SO I GUESS THIS IS WHERE WE STAND WITH YOU GUYS!” Keith finally broke and yelled out. He spun on his heel and headed for the door, brushing past Lance like he was nothing.  _ He’s just mad, _ Lance wanted to curl in on himself,  _ don’t take it personally, he still wants to be with you. Right?  _ Shiro stepped in front of the door to block Keith from leaving, but Keith just slammed Shiro against the wall and kept walking. 

“I..he...what just… how?” Shiro finally settled on after Keith had shoved him, something he had never been able to do before. 

“Keith!” Lance called out as he ran towards the door Keith just left from. He shot a slightly apologetic, slightly amused look at the team as he passed by them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry I took so long to post this chapter. I've been doing college things, which do take a little precedence over this. Sorry about that, hope you enjoyed!


	5. You're a Furry Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it... the moment of truth. Will this break them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are my lifeblood and greatly appreciated. 
> 
> Come scream at me on tumblr @it-has-the-gay-fanfiction

Lance threw open the doors and saw that Keith was farther down the hallway. “Keith! Wait, please!” He begged as he ran after the other paladin. Keith didn’t even turn or make any motion to let Lance know that he heard him. Lance frowned and sped up, calling after Keith again, though Keith couldn’t hear anything over the sound of blood rushing through his ears. He grabbed onto Keith’s shoulder when he caught up to stop the other from storming off again. Keith growled and yanked his shoulder out of Lance’s grip, spinning to face his perceived target, with his teeth bared. Lance took a step back with a slightly fearful look on his face, “Keith…?” 

Keith blinked rapidly and looked around wildly until his eyes finally focused on Lance. “Lance…? Why are we outside?” then Keith seemed to notice the frightened look on Lance’s face. “What happened? Why do you look so scared?”

Lance wrapped his arms around himself, “You slammed Shiro into a wall and then ran out. When I caught up with you… you started growling at me and looked like you wanted to tear my throat out with your teeth.”

“I did WHAT?!” Keith’s eyes widened and he took a step towards Lance, “All I remember is getting mad that no one would tell us why we were dragged to the control room by Shiro.” 

Lance looked up sharply, worry filling his features, “Keith… babe… that was twenty minutes ago.”

“What…? What’s happening to me?” Keith asked quietly, his eyes wide with shock. Lance stepped closer to Keith and pulled him into his arms. Keith stiffened and Lance let go with a frown on his face, but he kept his head down so Keith wouldn’t see. He had enough on his plate as is, he didn’t need to be dealing with a clingy boyfriend. 

“Maybe we should stick you in a healing pod, you aren’t looking so hot… well, you’re always hot,” Lance knew he was rambling if the amused look on Keith’s face was anything to go by, “oh shut up, you knew what I meant.” Lance nudged Keith in the direction of the medical bay. 

“I didn’t mean to… earlier I mean… I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” Keith hung his head, but not before Lance caught the haunted look on his face.

“Hey babe… no, none of that,” Lance pulled Keith to a stop and lifted his chin so they could talk eye to eye, “Shiro’s a tough guy, okay? He’ll be fine, so don’t worry about him.” Lance smiled and gently rubbed Keith’s jaw with his thumb, trying not to wonder or worry about the fact that the others hadn’t come looking for them yet. Keith made a face and pulled his chin out of Lance’s grip.

“If you say so… Lance?” Keith looked over at his boyfriend and linked their fingers. “I don’t want a pod… I just want to go lay down. It’s probably nothing.” 

Lance smiled and squeezed Keith’s hand, “Not a problem, Keith.” Lance pulled Keith close as they changed directions and headed to Keith’s room. When they made it there, Lance followed in, only stopping in the doorframe when a wave of uncertainty hit him. “Do you want me to tuck you in?” He joked and watched the smaller paladin walk to his bed. 

Keith sat down on the bed, “I… I don’t know. I’m just so confused and worried. What if I lose control again?” Keith’s voice cracked as he stared down Lance and messed with his gloves, a nervous tick of his that Lance had picked up on. Lance walked over to the bed and sat down beside Keith before taking his hand to stop the fidgeting. 

“I won’t let that happen, okay? I can stay with you, if you want.” Lance said softly. Keith dropped his head onto Lance’s shoulder and nodded, curling more into the taller boy’s side. Lance wrapped an arm around Keith and leaned back against the headboard, “Go to sleep then. I’ll watch over you.”

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance and buried his face into Lance’s chest, “Thank you, Lance.” Lance started to answer Keith before he realized the other boy’s breathing had evened out and he was already asleep. Lance smiled fondly, but it quickly faded into a worried look when Keith started mumbling in his sleep. He started to gently run his fingers through Keith’s hair to hopefully calm the other boy. The repetitive motion soon lulled Lance into a state of almost unconsciousness as he too started to doze off. 

Lance only woke when Keith jumped and started struggling against Lance’s hold on him as he breathed heavily. “Keith, hey calm down. It’s just me, Lance.”

“Lance?” Keith looked up at Lance, his pupils were blown wide from fear. Lance rubbed his side and held him close.

“Yeah, I’m here, Keith. You okay?” Lance asked softly into Keith’s hair.

Keith shook his head, “I don’t know. I think so… it was just a bad dream.” Lance moved his hand to Keith’s back and rubbed small circles there to hopefully calm him a little.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lance asked quietly.

“It… wasn’t like a dream… It was just flashed of images… almost like,” Keith trailed off and his eyes unfocused again. 

Lance snapped his fingers in front of Keith’s eyes, bringing him back to attention, “Almost like what?” Lance asked as he gave Keith an encouraging look. 

“Almost like they were memories, but they couldn’t be because I’ve never… They were… Zarkon and the Galra… but not evil, just like normal people.” Keith gritted out, like he was having trouble getting his words out.

Lance hummed under his breath and pressed his lips against the crown of Keith’s hair, not just to ground Keith, but to ground himself as well, “That is a little strange, but I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Yeah… you’re probably right.” Keith paused for a second, “I need to see the others… I want to apologize for my behavior and… I really do think I need to go to a pod.”

“I’ll go with you, if you want.” Lance said softly and when he saw Keith’s nod, he untangled himself from Keith and stood. He held out a hand to his boyfriend to help him up. “Let’s go then.”

Lance led Keith to the medical bay and paused in front of one of the pods. “We should probably get Pidge or someone in here… I’m not a hundred percent confident in my ability to work the pods.”

Lance paced for a second staring at the call button on his com before calling Pidge. It took a few ticks, but they finally answered.

“What was that all about, Lance?” Pidge’s voice rang out from the communicator in Lance’s hand. 

“I...I’m not sure. We.. Keith needs help, Pidge. Something is wrong with him and I don’t know how to help him,” Lance’s voice cracked with emotion before he continued on, “please help him.” 

“We’ll be right there.” Pidge sounded slightly worried, but cut off communication before Lance could comment on it. 

“They are on their way,” Lance wrapped an arm around Keith to ground them both, “we’ll figure out what’s going on in that pretty head of yours.” Keith laughed softly before pressing his face in Lance’s neck. Lance could feel Keith breathing a bit heavier and stopped himself from jumping when Keith nosed at his neck, almost like he was trying to scent him. Which was really strange considering Keith was human and not some kind of cat. Lance shook those thoughts from his head as the rest of the team walked through the door. He could feel Keith tensing up, like he was preparing for a fight. 

“Not now, Keith… you said you wanted to apologize to them, and starting a fight is not the way to do that,” Lance whispered in Keith’s ear as he rubbed Keith’s side to hopefully calm him down.

“Later then.” Keith muttered darkly before calming down. 

Pidge walked over to the pod behind Keith, “What exactly am I supposed to be inputting? Are we scanning his brain to figure out why he freaked out earlier? Or is it something else?” 

“Before you put me in there…. I just want to apologize for how I reacted.” Keith looks down a little. “I didn’t mean to hurt you...any of you. I honestly don’t know what happened. Lance had to tell me because I don’t remember storming out or anything past you guys confronting us. No matter how much you guys are pissing me off right now, I would  _ never _ hurt any of you. You...you guys are all I have… and it hurt, god did it  _ hurt _ , when you guys said that about Lance and I. We’re finally happy and we get thrown this shit from you all.” Allura looked like she was going to interrupt, but Shiro stopped her.

“Keith.... Lance… we’re the ones that should be apologizing. We went too far with our comments and didn’t really explain…” Shiro sighed and pinched his nose. 

“Of course we want you both to be happy. We’re just worried… but seeing how you guys reacted… I think it’s best to leave your relationship alone. You guys are adults and you can take care of yourselves and make your own decisions.” Allura said after a moment’s hesitation. 

Lance smiled at her a little, “Thank you, Allura. I know it was probably hard to say that, but honestly, my biggest concern right now is Keith. He basically blacked out and he’s having strange… thoughts. Pidge, can you set the pod to scan his brain functions and to also scan for foreign DNA?” Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and squeezed it. Lance rubbed a thumb over the other boy’s hand to calm him as Pidge set up the pod.

“Why am I scanning for foreign DNA?” Pidge questioned as they finished setting up the pod.

“Just a hunch… and as much as I love this bonding moment we were having, we really only need Pidge. There may be some personal information that Keith won’t want to share.” Lance looked over at the rest of the team.

“Keith…? What do you guys think is happening?” Hunk asked hesitantly. 

Keith shook his head, “Lance is right. The only people I want or need in here are Lance and Pidge. I would prefer it if the rest of you left.” Shiro sighed and walked over to Keith. As he tried to put a hand on Keith’s shoulder, the red paladin flinched away and made a strange growling noise in the back of his throat. “Please… just go. Can’t you see you’ve done enough damage for the day, Takashi?” Keith narrowed his eyes slightly at Shiro, only relaxing when the older man held up his hands in surrender and backed away.

“The pod is ready. Keith, hop on in. I’ll make sure everyone is gone, but Coran has to stay as well. I still haven’t perfected my Altean yet and I haven’t really had the chance to update the language systems on the castle.” Pidge said, breaking the awkward silence in the room. 

Keith sighed and leaned into Lance briefly, “That’s fine.” Keith moved away from Lance and stepped into the pod. Lance quirked his lip to try to calm Keith and kept the face till the pod closed. 

“Alright… everyone out. I’m serious.” Lance turned to the others and made a shooing motion with his hands. Hunk patted a hand on Lance’s back and gave him a meaningful look before leaving the room. “That means you too, oh fearless leaders.” Lance looked between Allura and Shiro.

“Fine, I’ll leave for now, but I want to know what’s going on with my brother, Lance. He’s all the family that I have left and I’m worried.” Shiro said after a moment of silence. 

Lance just shook his head, “Did you not hear what Keith was saying? We’re all a family up here, whether you see it or not, Keith is not all you have left, Shiro.” Shiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning on his heel and walking out of the room. Allura looked conflicted for a moment and opened her mouth to say something, when Lance held up a hand. “Please just go, Allura. I’m not very happy with anyone right now, okay? You’re going to apologize to us at some point, but now is not the time nor the place for this.” Lance knew he sounded tired, but he was, oh was he tired. It was going to take him a while to process everything that had happened, but for now, his main focus was his boyfriend and getting Allura to go away. 

“I truly am sorry, Lance. What I said was rash and rude, and in compliance with the paladins of old… I will find some way to make it up to you,” and that was all Allura said before she too left the room. Lance sighed and sagged a little before turning back to the pod. 

“Alright, let’s find out what’s wrong with Keith, shall we?” Lance called out to Pidge and Coran as he walked back over to them. 

“I’m already on it.” Pidge said before looking back to the screen on the pod. “Hmm… it seems his brain functions are normal… wait a second, Coran could you tell me what this line says?” Pidge pointed to a line of text on the screen.

“Of course number five!” Coran stepped closer to the screen, “It’s saying something about foreign DNA. Why don’t we run the foreign DNA against the other DNA we have in the system?” Coran suggested and tapped out some command on the display. Lance chewed his lip and stepped closer to the pod,  _ please don’t be what I think it is… please.  _

A ding sounded on the machine and Coran’s face paled, “It can’t be! It’s not possible.” Lance looked up sharply and turned to the older man.

“What is it, Coran? What’s wrong with Keith?” Lance’s voice shook, he knew what was coming. 

“The foreign DNA… it’s Galran DNA.” Pidge spoke up before Coran could. Lance dropped his head and clenched his fists.

“I knew it…. Alright, let him out. I need to talk to him about this, ease him into it.” Lance said, finally looking up at Coran and Pidge.

“Why should we let him out, my boy? He’s Galra, the race we are fighting against!” Coran looked slightly wild, and deeply disturbed at the fact that a Galran soldier had made it on the ship when he was none the wiser.

“He is still Keith. Do you hear me, Coran? That man in there is still the same stupid, impulsive, mulleted idiot that we put in there a few dobashes ago! Just because he suddenly found out a part of himself that he had no clue about, doesn’t give you or anyone else grounds to keep him locked up. Keith is more devoted to Voltron’s cause than anyone here! So you’re going to let him out right now and you aren’t going to treat him any differently, okay? He’s probably going to hate himself more than enough, he doesn’t need anymore shit from the team.” Lance took a deep breath to calm down after that rant. He chanced a look at Coran and saw the older man giving him a look of slight awe. “What?” Lance bit out as he looked Coran in the eye.

“I’m just impressed with how much you clearly care for him. You are right, of course. I was too rash in my judgement of number four… I hope you and he will be able to forgive me.” Coran gave Lance the smallest of smiles before pressing the release button on the pod. Lance smiled at him for a moment before preparing to catch Keith when he stumbled out of the pod. 

“We’re going to go… aren’t we, Coran? We should give the two lovebirds a chance to talk this out.” Pidge said before dragging Coran out by the crook of his elbow. Lance sighed and turned to face the pod fully so he’d be able to catch his boyfriend when he fell out. A few ticks later the pod’s barrier fell and Keith stumbled out into Lance’s arms. 

“Hey there sleeping beauty.” Lance smiled down at Keith,  _ I hope I don’t look how I feel right now… my emotions are all over the place, he doesn’t need this, need me…. _

“What’s the verdict?” Keith pushed himself into a fully standing position, but didn’t leave the warm comfort of his boyfriend’s arms. Lance rubbed his side a little to warm him up and also to stall for time. 

“Why don’t we go have a seat? I’m tired of standing.” Lance gave Keith a small smile before pulling his boyfriend down so they could sit on the steps. 

“Lance,” Keith’s voice was rough, like he was fighting to hold back his emotions, “just tell me. Stop beating around the damn bush.” Pale, slender fingers, scarred from months of fighting, linked with his own and Lance looked back up to Keith’s face. 

Lance sighed and brought Keith’s hand up to his mouth to place a kiss to his gloved knuckles, “I promised you that I would never let anything tear us apart, the universe and Voltron be damned, and I’ll stand by it. There is nothing wrong with you, Keith. You are perfect the way you are, and if anyone tries to hurt you, they’ll have me to deal with… They already have.” Lance knew he was rambling, but he just… he couldn’t stand to see Keith’s face when the inevitable truth came out. He really wished he wasn’t the one to have to tell Keith that he was Galra, or at least had Galran DNA.  _ You don’t have to tell him,  _ some dark part of his brain whispered,  _ you could put it on someone else. _

“Lance,” Keith’s voice broke him out of his thoughts and he looked up into violet eyes. Keith worked his jaw and set his mouth in a thin line, “What are you saying, Lance. Just tell me the truth… are you… are you trying to get rid of me?” 

Lance shook his head frantically, “Never. I… I just,” he hung his head, he couldn’t bear to look Keith in the eyes right now. “Keith… you have Galran DNA… you aren’t fully human.” Lance finally whispered, knowing Keith would hear him. He heard Keith suck in a tiny breath before the pale hand in his tried to pull away. Lance jerked his head up to look at Keith and choked back a gasp at the sight of his boyfriend. “Keith, what’s wrong? Talk to me, babe.” Lance held tight to Keith’s hand and pulled him into his chest. 

“I… I guess I always knew I was different… but I never thought it was something like this. Please… please don’t leave me, Lance.” Keith croaked out and pressed his nose back into Lance’s neck.  _ Well now the scenting thing makes more sense… _ Lance thought idly while he rubbed Keith’s back. 

“Never.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crow my dudes! I am so sorry this took so long to get out, I was dealing with a lot of things mentally and had some killer writer's block. I hope you enjoyed the first installment of the Gravitational Pull series! Be on the lookout for the next installment.


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